PM Modi prescribes Citizen’s Curfew to fight Corona Virus. The 3 takeaways from his address

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, took to the telly and the internet to appeal to a nation of more than a billion people, for their singular devotion of resources and adoption of pragmatic practices to fight the global pandemic unleashed by the Corona virus.

His Wednesday speech was dedicated to fighting the spread of Covid-19 in India where the cases have steadily but thankfully not scarily, risen over the past two weeks. His address to the nation comes at a time when the total corona cases in India have jumped to 169 in 11 states and union territories. By the time his speech concluded there were three takeaways, which as an executive head of a nation he asked of his countrymen.

Janta Curfew

The prime minister asked the people for self-restraint and not to go out on Sunday, March 22, between 7 am and 9 pm. He called this a Janta Curfew, and asked them not to venture out of their homes unless absolutely essential. The citizen’s curfew would be in place from Sunday onwards. In effect, he has appealed the people to graduate from self-imposed isolation to the idea of Janta Curfew. “This will prepare us for future circumstances. I urge all state governments to help comply with this #jantacurfew,” Modi said in his address to the nation.

He asked the people to observe the 3S mantra for the next few weeks to beat the pandemic. His formula: sanyam (patience), sankalp (determination) and social distancing.  

Economy hit, taskforce in place   

Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, should be both happy and disappointed. He has been accusing the Indian government of being complacent in its approach towards containing the corona virus spread and mitigating its impact on the country’s economy. Unlike in the west and in Europe where leaders of the state were in denial for the first few weeks, Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi didn’t mince words and admitted the spread of virus is impacting the economy.

He said the global pandemic has impacted the economy. To respond to the challenge the government has set up a task force with the finance minister as its head to monitor the situation and put measures in place to prevent distress in the Indian economy. Where Gandhi failed to offer any economic safeguards, this was a well-scored political goal against his public ramblings.

Hail the healers

While deliberating over the precautionary measures to beat the Covid 19 virus in India, Modi reminded the citizens not to forget the contribution of the care givers, staff in health and sanitation departments in all states, and those engaged in essential services. He asked the people to step out of their houses in the balconies and at their doorsteps this Sunday at 5 pm to ring bells or thalis (plates) as a gesture of appreciation for their commitment to the cause in face of the danger they are exposed to during the global pandemic.

Modi asked the employers not to cut salaries of their staff during this period of social distancing and lockdown in coming weeks.